


A New Destiny to the Grave

by marsakat



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Adjusting to being dead, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Angst and Humor, Car Accidents, M/M, To Be Continued, it's sad (obviously) but I promise it's kind of funny too!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6998689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsakat/pseuds/marsakat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not even death would keep Tyler from making music (i.e. how he learns to live with being dead, and kick some ghostly ass while doing it)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Destiny to the Grave

Tyler Joseph died twice.  The first time Tyler’s on a platform—not even that high up, and while he would expect to break a bone or two from the fall, no one counted on the completely healthy twenty-seven year old to have a massive brain aneurysm.  He looks back later at the irony of his brain literally killing him.  Either way, one second Tyler is falling thinking “oh jeez this is going to hurt, my mom was right about not climbing” to the next thing he knows, he feels lighter than air, but he’s standing? He’s still on stage and the music has stopped.  Tyler looks over at Josh who’s sprinting towards him, who also stops, looking terrified and confused.

Then Tyler looks down to see a crumbled form on the ground at his feet.

It’s his own broken body.

Which shouldn’t be possible but it is.

Tyler entertains the thought of being dead, and he concludes that this must be the weirdest dream he’s ever had.  Or maybe the fall knocked him silly and it’s all just the byproduct of a concussion.

“Josh?” he called and the drummer started moving toward him again, looking between the body and Tyler.  Other people were running on stage, also staring in amazement at the two Tylers, but  conscious Tyler was more concerned about the look on Josh’s face—he was okay, he was standing right here, but that didn’t stop everyone from screaming bloody murder in the crowd.

“Can you see me?” Tyler said, waving his hand in front of Josh’s face, terrified that he was destined to walk the world invisible to his loved ones.

“Yeah, but how?” Josh said, relief coursing through Tyler.

“I think I’m dead, but I also could be dreaming.  Pinch me?”

Josh tried but his fingers passed through Tyler’s arm.  He yanked his hand away, “Dude you’re really cold.  Maybe I should pinch myself since I’m the only corporeal one?”

“Nice word.  Save that,” Tyler murmured as Josh pinched himself hard.  He could see the redness afterward as blood pooled below the surface.

“So, I’m dead,” Tyler stared at his body in fascination.  He’d never looked at himself from this angle before and it was interesting to examine the back of his head, his shoulders, and, hey, butt (!).

“Yeah, guess so,” Josh on the other hand couldn’t look at Tyler’s body.  Granted, somehow Tyler was still standing here, and everyone else could see him, but it just sucked that his best friend died in front of him.  He wasn’t gone, but Tyler wouldn’t be alive anymore and that was permanent.  Josh was totally allowed to mourn.

“What should we do with the body?”

“Dude, show some more respect for your, uh, corpse!”  Mark cut in.

“It’s just a vessel,” even Josh had to roll his eyes at Tyler’s reference, “I guess put it backstage and maybe we’ll just continue on with the show?”

“Wait, really?”

“Well if Josh is down for it, I’d like to keep going.  Let me just see if I’m able to pick stuff up, and then we’ll figure it out from there.”

Apparently it was just only other people couldn’t touch him, but Tyler was more than able to pick up the microphone or ukulele, or press down on the piano keys.  It was different than how it had been in real life, and he could jump higher (if anything, Tyler just had to remember to come back down).  So they finished the show, the crowd utterly confused by the fact that Tyler was transparent and dead, but happy it wasn’t a completely tragic end to their favorite band.

It was an awful conversation with his parents to inform them that he had unfortunately died, but good news was it looked like he’d be sticking around for a while.  They decided not to cancel the tour—it was mainly Tyler that forced everyone to continue on as if he didn’t die on stage.  (“Trust me, that’s how I wanted to go”).  

They used the three day break the very next week to have a quick funeral.  Tyler gave final approvals to all the eulogies and even played a few songs for the crowd of emotionally conflicted mourners.  Since he had no substantial weight anymore, Tyler surfed out of the church on his coffin while his brothers, Josh, and a few close friends served as pallbearers. (His parents totally yelled at him later for not being somber enough at his own funeral.  “Guys, it’s not a funeral, it’s a FUN-eral.”)

But a few days later they were back on the road, albeit with a lot of media attention.  It lasted for a few weeks and then everything went back to normal.

Things were different now, of course.  Tyler wasn’t weighed down by pesky human needs like sleeping and eating (he totally missed eating but when they discovered he was able to possess people, Tyler would just gorge himself and whoever’s body he was in.  It was usually Josh’s but that’s a story for a different time).  Tyler used the extra time to work on music, and explore new powers.  He could affect objects, but doors were a big issue.  In reality, Tyler could just float through, but that was super rude, and he walked in on enough naked people to take on the habit of loudly shouting “KNOCK KNOCK” before entering.

He couldn’t figure out why he’d been left behind, but there must be a purpose.  Maybe he had more things to create, or stuff needed to be done before it was his time to go to heaven.  On bad days, Tyler figured he must have royally screwed up that necessitated him being forced to become a ghost.  Purgatory on earth, but why was he allowed to do what he loved to do and be with the people he loved?

But then he discovered that there was a whole other world within this one, full of other ghosts and creepy supernatural beings Tyler had been sure weren’t real when he was still alive.  So maybe it was just part of God’s plan for Tyler to save lives through his music, and also through being a kickass ghost-fighting ghost.  (Again…that’s a story for a different time).

Josh stuck with him through it all.  Ever his faithful best friend, bandmate, ~~after~~ life partner—Josh thought it was awesome that Tyler had a mission, and of course wanted to fight bad guys with him.  Tyler was grateful, because it would have been awful to go through this alone, figuring out the rules of the supernatural, trying to cope with the loss of his body.  Without Josh, Tyler would’ve lost all that remained of his humanity.  He could see in the ghosts and demons that they fought, that his soul would have turned dark and evil if Josh hadn’t been there to keep him grounded.

Tyler tried not to think about when Josh’s inevitable death would happen, though in their secondary line of work (the ghostfighting, first and foremost, they were musicians), there was a real risk of that.  He hoped Josh would join him as a ghost and they could continue on for eternity.  Twenty One Pilots would never end, though he planned on taking a break every few centuries.

Sadly, that’s not how it would turn out.

Years and years down the line, Tyler and Josh were driving along a highway in the rain.  They were talking happily about the tour that had just ended and plans for the next one, when lights came out of nowhere and smashed head on into their car.  Tyler of course was uninjured, though he was left behind as the car rolled down the embankment.  It was the worst feeling in the world to know that Josh was still trapped, and definitely injured.

When he flew to the drummer’s side, Tyler just knew this was it.  Josh was covered in blood and glass, his breaths gargled and eyes unfocused.  Tyler had been around the dead for long enough to sense Josh dying in front of him, whimpering in pain.  And he cried pearly, unsubstantial tears as he was not able to comfort or sooth Josh in those last moments but for a wavering, broken melody--at least he still had his voice

“Tyler, I’m scared," Josh gasped.

“Me too,” he whispered, “Please just join me.  Come be a ghost--it’ll be great.”

“I don’t know how—I think I’m just going to go,” Josh sighed, his words faint.

“No! Don’t leave me!”  Tyler could feel anger that he was about to be stuck again.  He was going to be alone, and the darkness was already seeping into the edges of his soul.  Without Josh, he’d be lost.  He couldn’t lose Josh, he couldn’t!

One last idea struck Tyler, and he closed his eyes, reaching toward Josh’s chest like they’d done many times before over the multitude of years.  Sinking into Josh’s departing soul; he felt the warmth spread, along with the pain ripping through this body.

_Tyler? What are you doing?_

_We had a good run of it down here.  Let’s see what we’ll get up to in the afterlife, okay?_

_Sick! Do you think God will like my drumming?_

_Dude, we’re going to be the best band heaven’s ever seen.  Now let’s go toward that light._

_Together?_

_Together._

* * *

 

You know how it begins, and maybe how it ends.  But what about in between?

To be continued…

**Author's Note:**

> this was an anon tumblr prompt that screwed me up for daaays. I'm going to continue this at some point because I love the idea of Tyler and Josh fighting the supernatural while on tour.
> 
> come prompt me @ teeentyonpilots on tumblr (MB: shivermepickles)


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